And so Harry Reid is going to bring us the opt-out version of the public option. Personally I am fine with this position. Here is what I wrote to some friends about this issue:

The question isn’t whether it’s right to allow the red states to refuse health care (for themselves). The question is whether it’s better or worse to allow the red states to deny health care to everyone. If an opt-out is all they can pass, then pass it. We can move the ball further another time.

And the politics of it are beautiful. Let the Republicans go home and tell their voters that they can’t have health care for ideological reasons. I dare them to.

Huge thanks to Nancy Pelosi, the progressives in Congress, and the liberal netroots. The public option was declared dead over and over, and it was only hard work by the left wing that kept it on the table.

Don’t stop pushing yet! Now let’s get it passed.